Only 41 percent of Government projects have been implemented during the first quarter of 2018 with a physical progress of 75 percent, according to the Government Revenue and Expenditure Report of 2018.

The report presented to the Cabinet of Ministers on 7 August by Minister of Finance, Mangala Samaraweera records that only 561 out 1,354 projects have reached over 75 percent completion (physical progress) while 349 projects are reported to be within 25-75 percent completion. According to the report, the remaining 444 projects have not achieved satisfactory progress during the period.

Furthermore, the Government has spent Rs 403 billion during the first quarter of the fiscal year, which amounts to 91 per cent of the expected expenditure. The largest allocation for 2018 was to the Ministry of Defence with Rs. 295,737 million which according to the report has reached its target for the first quarter. Meanwhile the Ministry of Public Enterprise Development, with a staggering 34 percent, has recorded the lowest rate in expenditure during the targeted period.

In addition, the revenue collected by the Government during the first quarter was Rs 469 billion, which is 90.2 per cent of the expected revenue.